--- title: "Final KC-10 Extender Tanker Flies Into Retirement" description: "The flight from Travis Air Force Base in California will bring down the curtain on a 43-year career for the trijet KC-10 Extender tanker-transport. The flight from Travis Air Force Base in California will bring down the curtain on a 43-year career for the trijet KC-10 Extender tanker-transport." date: "2024-09-26" modified: "2024-09-26" authors: - name: "Thomas Newdick" job_title: "Staff Writer" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/thomas-newdick.md" url: "https://www.twz.com/air/final-kc-10-extender-tanker-sent-into-retirement" categories: - "Air" - "Air Forces" - "KC-10" - "KC-46" - "Tankers" - "U.S. Air Force" --- # Final KC-10 Extender Tanker Flies Into Retirement ![KC-10 Extender tail #86-0036 performs its final mission as it heads of to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., following a July 13 ceremony at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., that marked the first retirement of 59 Extenders intended for eventual replacement by the KC-46A Pegasus. A total of three KC-10s from the Air Force’s Backup-Aircraft Inventory were congressionally approved for retirement during Fiscal Year 2020. As KC-10s are retired, the 309th AMARG will continue to support the remaining Extenders with spare parts as they are flown for several years while the KC-46A Pegasus is integrated into Air Mobility Command’s Total Force tanker enterprise. For nearly four decades, the KC-10 has helped secure global reach for America, providing in- flight refueling to U.S. and coalition aircraft, from Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm to Operation Inherent Resolve. The KC- 10 is flown from JBMDL by both the 305th AMW and its associate Air Force Reserve unit, the 514th AMW.]() *U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Sean Hetz* The U.S. Air Force officially said farewell today to the [KC-10 Extender](), sending its final example to the boneyard, while recognizing the service that the stalwart tanker and cargo aircraft provided since it first entered service in 1981. As you can read about [here](), the KC-10 inventory has been rapidly reduced over the last couple of years, although it’s not yet entirely clear what the service’s future tanker fleet will consist of. https://twitter.com/Travis60AMW/status/1839327152506020084 The KC-10 farewell ceremony took place in Hangar 46 at Travis Air Force Base, California, home of the final Air Force wing to operate the type. After official speeches, the last KC-10, callsign GUCCI 10, made the flight from Travis to [the boneyard]() at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. The aircraft made some low passes over Travis before heading to Long Beach, [passing over the place it was built.]() https://twitter.com/MCCCANM/status/1839360340045582592 The first KC-10 for Travis arrived at the base in 1994 and the type was most recently operated by the 6th and 9th Air Refueling Squadrons supported by the 660th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. https://twitter.com/MCCCANM/status/1839263215991095532 Unofficially nicknamed “Gucci” or “Big Sexy,” the KC-10 was based on the DC-10-30CF and retained 88 percent of systems commonality with the commercial trijet. The Air Force acquired the KC-10 as a ‘heavy tanker’ to supplement the [KC-135 Stratotanker]() family, with a DC-10-derived design chosen since it could be brought into service quickly to provide urgently needed additional tanker capacity. A primary mission was refueling large, fully laden transports flying over long distances, something that would become arguably even more important in the decades to follow. The KC-10 was especially well suited to this mission. With the three main DC-10 wing fuel tanks supplemented by three large fuel tanks under the cargo floor, it accommodated almost twice as much aviation fuel as the KC-135 — more than 356,000 pounds. [Unlike *almost* all the KC-135R fleet,]() the KC-10 was also fitted with its own refueling receptacle, meaning it could take on gas from a KC-135 or another KC-10 to increase its delivery range. Another interesting feature was the KC-10’s ability to [pump fuel in reverse](), sending it back up the boom from another aircraft. ![A U.S Air Force KC-10 Extender with the 76th Air Refueling Squadron, 514th Air Mobility Wing, is refueled by a KC-10 crewed by Reserve Citizen Airmen with the 78th Air Refueling Squadron, 514th Air Mobility Wing, over the Atlantic Ocean, Feb. 14, 2018. The 514th is an Air Force Reserve Command unit located at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Mark C. Olsen)]() *A U.S Air Force KC-10 with the 76th Air Refueling Squadron, 514th Air Mobility Wing, is refueled by another KC-10 over the Atlantic Ocean, on February 14, 2018. *U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Mark C. Olsen* Mark Olsen* Other advantages over the Stratotanker included the KC-10’s integrated [hose-and-drogue system](), allowing it to refuel U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aircraft, as well as probe-equipped receivers flown by other operators, without any further modifications. Twenty KC-10s did, however, receive wing-mounted pods, allowing multiple probe-equipped receivers to top up simultaneously. The KC-10 was also a load-carrying specialist. In its important secondary [cargo-carrying mission](), the Extender could transport nearly 170,000 pounds of cargo and up to 75 passengers over a distance of around 4,400 miles. The ability to lift cargo and simultaneously refuel other aircraft made the KC-10 ideal for supporting transoceanic deployments of fighters, for example, with support personnel and equipment being carried to the destination while the accompanying jets [topped up en route](). ![A KC-10 Extender assigned to the 305th Air Mobility Wing, McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, refuels an F-22 Raptor assigned to Langley Air Force Base, Va., during Razor Talon at Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., on Feb. 7, 2013. Razor Talon is an Atlantic Coast monthly large force exercise and joint-unit training opportunity to employ cutting edge operational concepts such as AirSea Battle and Maritime Air Support. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Andy M. Kin)]() *A KC-10 assigned to the 305th Air Mobility Wing, McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, refuels an F-22 Raptor. *U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Andy M. Kin* Staff Sgt. Andy M. Kin* https://twitter.com/PWoodford/status/1839337611623825800 The Air Force bought 60 KC-10As — only one variant of the type was ever fielded — although one was later lost in an explosion and subsequent fire while undergoing maintenance at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana in 1987. The Netherlands also received two similar [KDC-10 aircraft](), now operated by Omega Air, a pioneer in the [commercial aerial refueling segment](). ![]() *An Omega KDC‐10 tanker refuels a U.S. Air Force F‐16C from the 51st Fighter Wing, en route to Paya Lebar Air Base, Singapore, on November 6, 2023. *U.S. Air Force** The hard-worked KC-10 fleet was beginning to show its age by 2018 when smoke on the flight deck of one of the aircraft [forced the crew to evacuate](). A [separate fault]() quickly revealed itself in the same incident, when the crew’s escape slides failed to activate. The problem was found to affect the entire fleet. At the same time, with [DC-10s]() and MD-11s having left airline service and now also disappearing from cargo operators, the KC-10 was also becoming harder to support. Soon enough, the Air Force was looking for ways to retire the KC-10. [Despite some resistance](), including from [within the military](), Congress ultimately approved the divestiture. In July 2020, the retirement of the U.S. Air Force KC-10 fleet began, when the first example arrived at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. As of September 2023, 37 KC-10s were in the boneyard, including 12 that had gone there in that same year. The U.S. Air Force KC-10 completed its [final combat deployment]() on October 5 last year, when the last example departed [Prince Sultan Air Base]() (PSAB) in Saudi Arabia. The KC-10’s career included more than 30 years spent within the U.S. Air Forces Central (AFCENT) [area of responsibility](), supporting military operations, including Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. ![]() *U.S. airmen salute a KC-10 as it begins to depart after conducting the final combat deployment at Prince Sultan Air Base (PSAB), Saudi Arabia, on October 5, 2023. *U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank** Although the KC-10 has now bowed out, the Air Force is still weighing up options for its future tanker fleet. The immediate replacement for the KC-10 is the [KC-46 Pegasus](), an aircraft that has had [no shortage of problems]() in its development, [many of which persist]() now that it’s [in service](). ![151019-F-HP195-037 OWENS VALLEY, Calif. (Oct. 19, 2015) Photos of Boeing's KC-46A, lower right, conducting tests of aircraft acceleration and vibration exposure while flying in receiver formation at various speeds and altitudes behind either the KC-10 Extender or the KC-135 Stratotanker. Testing for this phase was coordinated from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and conducted above Owens Valley and parts of the western Mojave Desert.]() *A KC-46, lower right, conducting refueling receiver tests behind a KC-10 Extender with a KC-135 Stratotanker in the background waiting its turn as refueler. *U.S. Air Force* U.S. Air Force Photo by Christopher Okula* Previously, there were plans to field a KC-10 successor under the KC-Y program, the counterpart to the KC-X, which was to replace the KC-135 (and for which the KC-46 was eventually selected). The question now is what happens after the Air Force receives the last of its 179 KC-46s, which is due to happen in 2029. As soon as the KC-46s are delivered, the service wants to start inducting [75 more aerial refuelers](), aircraft that it had previously referred to as “bridge tankers.” The bridge tankers — which could be more KC-46s, [Lockheed Martin’s LMXT](), or even based also [contractor-based leased solutions]() — are viewed as an interim solution until the Air Force gets the tanker that it really wants, and one that will very likely feature [survivability as a core element of its design](). This may well result in a design that stresses low-observable features, as we have [discussed before](). ![]() *A concept of a future low-observavle tanker from the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. *Lockheed Martin** By the time a tanker of that kind is in service, the Cold War-era KC-10 will look even more dated. That said, the aircraft is still providing useful service in its contractor-operated form. It would not be entirely surprising if at least some of the former U.S. Air Force KC-10s end up in the hands of private companies, like the former Dutch KDC-10s with Omega. Were that to happen, the KC-10’s career refueling U.S. military aircraft might not be over. *Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com* ## Author Thomas Newdick is a staff writer at *TWZ*, where he covers military aviation, defense technology, weapons systems, and international security. Based in Berlin, Germany, he reports on conflicts, military modernization efforts, and emerging aerospace technologies around the world, with a particular interest in airpower and its role in contemporary warfare. His reporting is informed by deep expertise in modern and historical airpower, particularly in Europe, with a focus on military aviation, air campaigns, and aerospace developments across the continent and beyond. Over a journalism career spanning more than 25 years, Thomas has become known for making complex defense and aerospace topics accessible to a broad audience. His reporting combines technical expertise, historical context, and a focus on the real-world operational and strategic implications of military developments. ### Author social links [Twitter]()